tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1404101404516116786.post542450080760820650..comments2011-08-18T15:12:47.629-07:00Comments on Self-care: A New Health Paradigm: Demonizing the Food IndustryRajiv Mehtahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05717481435290103860noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1404101404516116786.post-24761257240143330662011-08-18T15:12:47.629-07:002011-08-18T15:12:47.629-07:00Bernard — Thanks for your comment. Yes, I did read...Bernard — Thanks for your comment. Yes, I did read Kessler&#39;s book, and on the whole I thought it was very good. It&#39;s not his facts I&#39;m disagreeing with, but rather the framing of us vs them. In terms of giving people advice on what to eat, I like Michael Pollan&#39;s summary &quot;Eat food; Not too much; Mostly plants&quot;. His book &quot;In Defense of Food&quot; explains what he means.<br /><br />The rise in the number of people diagnosed with various conditions, including diabetes, is indeed very worrying. However, some people question those statics and argue that what is being done to respond to those statistics may be actually causing more harm. For example, see &quot;Over-Diagnosed: Making people sick in the pursuit of health&quot; by Dr. H Gilbert Welch, Dr Lisa M Schwartz, and Dr Steve Woloshin, or &quot;Worried Sick: A prescription for health in an overtreated America&quot; by Dr Notin Hadler.Rajiv Mehtahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05717481435290103860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1404101404516116786.post-49455491460420200482011-08-18T12:20:06.042-07:002011-08-18T12:20:06.042-07:00Rajiv, did you read Kessler&#39;s book? He talks w...Rajiv, did you read Kessler&#39;s book? He talks with several people in the food industry and it&#39;s clear they spend time trying to make food more attractive and appealing in ways that appear to alter our brain chemistry. He also cites research that shows our brain&#39;s reaction to certain foods is similar to what it would look like for cocaine.<br /><br />You may also check out the book <em>Good Calories, Bad Calories</em> by Gary Taubes. Part of what this covers is how the hypothesis that fatty foods are bad was not scientifically proven (I think this was in the 60s) and yet people we encouraged away from foods containing fat and then moved towards foods with high carbohydrates. This was before the sharp increase in type 2 diabetes, that seems at least partially due to the changes in what people eat.<br /><br />As a society we need to figure out how to reduce this problem. The estimates for the growth in diabetes alone is staggering, even if you assume it&#39;s only half as bad as the predictions say. Otherwise overeating and bad food choices will be a disaster for all of us within the next few decades. The PDF of the article <em><a href="http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/21/9/1414.full.pdf" rel="nofollow">Global Burden of Diabetes, 1995-2025</a></em> is enlightening if frightening reading.Bernardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14936264471078732019noreply@blogger.com